The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-07-07
A LAY SERMON TO PROHIBITION
PREACHERS.

VINO nave thrust themselves W WV '''"
in the pending campaign as STUMP
speakers for prohibition, because the anti
prohibition press has kindly, and in mod
crate terms, advise Mthem to abandon this
new role in which the sacredness thai
doth hedge a minister of God, Is rudel!
swept away by the demoralizing con'ae'
of the hastings and stick to the cure OF sous
by the old and approved methods laid down
in the code of moral laws-the Holy bio!e'
They protest that the limitations we suS'
pest for them are unfair, and such as we
saak IN impose on no other class. mat
they are not unfair, we could adduce
string of reasons mile long to prove
and that they are such as we seek to i'm
pose upon no other class, is a proposition
we promptly and frankly admit. Let us
reason together about this matter, on this
fair Sabbath morning, when the bells are
calling US to the houses of worship, and
all the Oh. istian world is resting for day
from the hard grindings of life, IN obedi-
ence to the divine command.
II it is right that the preacher should go
outside his long and well established
boundaries and shrek himself hoarse for
prohibition before irreverent crowds, II Is
equally right that he should splash and
stain his frock by aggressive work in all
the issues which are constantly arising in
the progress of society and the conduct
of government He does all such work in
the sacred capacity of minister of God
and apostle of Christ, from which he is
not able to dissociate himself If he
would and this much conceded, it is not
difficult to see that the inevitable result
will be the complete destruction OF the
peculiar and distinctive relations of the
preacher to society as they have existed
since the foundation of the church,
and the establishment of new school of
Christian preachers, whose functions are
underlined, and are limited only by the
ambition and caprices of the particular
individual. This means the conversion
of the pulpit into rostrum, and the
church of God into nondescript affair,
like those in Utah. where the preacher
harangues his audience on polygamy, con-
stitutional amendments, Utah's admission
into the Union, congressional repressive
measures and the most profitable crops
of cereals to plant in particular soils, all
mixed in with an occasional reference to
dogmatic theology and the divine
plan of salvation. The church
hasn't reached that point yet,
and We trust it never will,
but it is logically bound TO do so if the
prohibition preachers of Texas, who have
resolved themselves into stump speakers
for the campaign, shall succeed in estab-
fishing the precedent, that the duties of the
Christian ministry are not limited to car
ing for the spiritual wants of man and
up-bullding the church of God on earth
II it be urged that the prohibition amend
ment vitality concerns the spiritual inter,
ests of the people of Texas, it can be
urged with equal force that nearly every
provision of the constitution and nearly
every measure of legislation, also affects
their spiritual interests, the difference
being in degree and not in kind. This
being recognized as true, our ministers
need no preparation in theology or sacred
ordination for their work, for. actively
concerned as they will be with the innu'
merable reforms that lie in the future
touching the material interests of the
people, they will have little or no time to
preach Christ and Him crucIied, or per
petuate his example in their own meek
and lowly lives. The legal right OF our
ministers to take what part they please in
the prohisitlon issue, is, of course, not in
controversy, but its expectancy is very
grsvely questioned, tending, as it will
to the fixing of habit upon our &C
credited religious teachers that will take
from the church much of the reverence
due to it, and upon which Its influence SO
largely depends, and inves, the teachers
themselves with the characteristics of
mere Inspirations worldlings. They
deSpoil themselves of all sanctity or
special privileges, by thus destroying the
limitations imposed upon them since
Christ taught upon the Mount, and with
all proper respect for the pulpit, We must
say that when the preacher thus put:
himself upon level with the
world, and invades fields of controversy
where he must take, as we'll as give, blows
defend, as we'll as strike, without time FOL
preparation; he will be sstonished in many
instances to see how poorly equipped he
is for such rough-snd-tumble warfare
What we have said Of this degradation. OF
rather, abandonment of priestly func
tions, is true of Catholic and Protestant
alike, and most striking instance right
10 hand is the case of Father McGlynn